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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26985796">Beat Switch</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TurntechGoth/pseuds/TurntechGoth'>TurntechGoth</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>League of Legends</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, more chars to be added!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 22:49:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,843</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26985796</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TurntechGoth/pseuds/TurntechGoth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A pop star developing her image, a young inventor developing his revolution. It wasn't quite chance that brought them together, but when they collide? Piltover and Zaun are in for a bit of a beat switch.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ekko/Seraphine (League of Legends)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. A Concert, An Artist, And A Thief</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I didn't like how vague Seraphine's lore was, so I decided to try and work my own spin on it, and her. I'm mostly working off of the small bits and pieces we've gotten in her bio, and hoping to develop her further beyond, "cheery pop-star." Piltover and Zaun deserve some depth, Riot.  I also wanted an excuse to finally write for League, and give Ekko some time in the sun. Hope you enjoy it!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Seraphine, huh?” Ekko rolled his eyes before they scrolled down the rest of the article, speaking briefly of new star’s rise to prominence, from humble beginnings. Humble, Piltie, beginnings if there was such a thing. It seemed like another fluff piece if nothing else, his eyes nearing the bottom of the page until he landed on something that really interested him, “her intuitive new performance platform, rumored to be working off of <strong>brackern crystals</strong>.”</p>
<p>He’d heard of hextech, yeah, the same substance powering the city above him, and select parts of the place he called home. Not to mention his signature zero-drive, currently finding itself powered off on his nearby desk. But brackern, that was new… that was interesting. Sure, he had no idea what it meant, but that could be fixed by getting his hands on it, and breaking it, if necessary. Breaking powerful crystals wasn’t something new to the young genius, eyeing his precious zero-drive with a small smirk. He was making a plan.</p>
<p>He crumbled the article and chucked it towards his trashcan, giving a small glance around his bedroom, also known as his lab, and at times, his studio… but he was still working on that one.  A few scratched and worn tools laid across his worktable, a simple metallic slab dented and scratched, various burn marks from his more… explosive experiments. It was rough and tumble and broken in a few places, yet much like the city he hailed from, it was his, and he’d have it no other way.</p>
<p>Ekko stood up from his bed with a quick stretch, cracking his neck as he walked over to his worktable, giving a look over his z-drive. “So… let’s show some Pilties what were made of, hm?” he commented to the device with a small smirk, grabbing his bat as he shouldered the device on his back. An eager hand reached for his window and cracked it open, a bit of secondhand fumes reaching inside as he was given a look out to the city around him. His parents wouldn’t be around for a few hours, late shifts in all, those damn factories. Still, it had its benefits, no questions asked when he needed to scavenge some parts. Or, in rare occasions like this, stealing them… even if it was more like reclamation if it was stolen from Pilties.</p>
<p>His jacket shifted around his figure as the boy adjusted himself, his z-drive and bat hidden under the heavy coat. It wasn’t the weather for it, the stuffy ambience of the city surrounding him. He stood out for sure, but that could be awarded more to his mohawk than any unfortunate fashion choices. The jacket was practical, at least in one way, it his z-drive and bat from any security. Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to use either, or ideally, only the former if he needed a second chance, but he had no idea just how guarded this concert would be.</p>
<p>His eyes shifted among the crowd as he neared the bridge, a symbolic structure meant to “unite the two cities,” much like her music, from what he skimmed in the article. He knew the truth, though, it was built to make resource transport easier, working hextech out of Zaun and into the hands of Piltover. It was made to keep the system going, a system he intended to break, intended to prove wrong… and the start of the revolution was held within those crystals this new popstar was peddling. Well… better than peddling overpriced and overcomplicated cosmetics, right?</p>
<p>His eyes scanned the crowd as it shuffled further and further down the street, small carts lining the sides of the roads shouting among the general chatter, trying to pull attention to anything they could sell, merchants, cooks and… chem barons. Ekko’s eyes darted open at the sight of one, and one he knew… somewhat personally. As personal as you can get, stealing from a powerful figure right as he laid eyes on you. He made it out that day, and he hoped he would again, but the boy didn’t want to take many chances.</p>
<p>He flipped his hood up as his heartbeat faster, legs picking up the pace as he threw himself into the crowd. His hands pushed forward into the mass of bodies, tech shaking and jittering as he scrambled for safety, for security, for some way to keep himself out of view. Seconds passed, then minutes, the adrenaline fueling the boy as he pushed ahead, further, and further… until finally, he reached his destination.</p>
<p>The front of the crowd, or at least, one front of it. The dark dinge of Zaun’s grey mixed with the bright light of the golden city above, or… that golden sheen could be the sun, you know, without the filter of the decades of hextech pollution. Who was to know, when Zaun was all you knew?</p>
<p>As he stood up straight and caught his breath, the beautiful vista caught his eye. That bright sheen, the pulsing glow… the tech behind Seraphine’s platform was beautiful, and he was ready to take what was rightfully Zaun’s. If only it was so easy, sure, he was here, but he’d need a plan, and he’d need to think quick before the singer found her way to the stage.</p>
<p>The crowd stretched far on either side of him, the dark greys and greens of the Zaun faithful behind him, and the sea of Piltovian gold flush ahead of him, getting out would be the hard part… unless he decided to just jump for it. No, no… he couldn’t. Sure, his drive could take him back, allow him to try again and again, but it couldn’t stop his momentum.</p>
<p>He could, run? Yeah, he could run, fighting his way out wouldn’t be an option. But running into the crowd would slow him down, wouldn’t it? Think, Ekko, Think! His first thought was his z-drive, of course, allowing him near infinite time to replay and relive the moment, think up any plan he could… but one pulse would make everyone aware, the chrono-break would be too easy to identify. If he used his drive, he’d be caught.</p>
<p>This put him in a rough spot, one only turned rougher when he saw a bright pink haircut making its way towards the stage. He knew that face, seen it before in papers, pictures… Vi. He’d never dealt with her directly, thankfully, the brash brawler keeping her path clear of Zaun whenever she could, it seemed. But he knew the stories, knew her past, and knew just how dangerous her fists could be, if he was caught on the wrong end of them.</p>
<p>Ekko sent her a quick glare with a simple message, “traitor,” before his eyes fixed back onto the technology of the stage, not wanting to play his cards early, or worse get caught, even if it took all his willpower to not attempt to fight his way out of the situation, right here and now, prove just how powerful Zaun could be.</p>
<p>Soon enough, a second set of pink locks filled his view, and he knew he was running short on time. Without a plan, either in or out, he stepped forward, following the mass of fans hounding the stage. He was jostled and set unsteady as the crowd pulsed him forward, his jacket getting lost in the shuffle as he was exposed, in more way than one. His bat was hidden at his side, thankfully, and his drive upon his back, but he couldn’t risk another chance, a chance for his device to crack, and his future along with it.</p>
<p>What to do… what to do… The music filled his ears and clouded his focus, her sweet voice making him feel one with the crowd, but… he wasn’t. Sure, among him was his people, but across the way, across the stage? That was the enemy, the reason he was here, the reason his parents had to work, and slave away. All for what? Them to enjoy themselves, enjoy the fruits of lives ruined, all in the goal of watching some, albeit pretty, girl sing her heart out? He wasn’t having it, he had to act.</p>
<p>Ekko took a deep breath as the crowd around him calmed in turn, somewhat falling out of Seraphine’s charm due to his power of will, his calm demeanor in a time of otherwise overwhelming excitement. He had to do this, not just for him, but for the crowd around them, for their future, for his revolution.</p>
<p>Just as his anticipation began to pulse in his chest, the crowd near him became to come back alive, the empath’s device leaving him in control of those around him, much like she did, through the power of her stage. The crowd was a wave of emotion, all lead by her music, and Ekko? He was pushing against the current.</p>
<p>Literally, of course.  Ekko’s hands reached for his bat as he gently pushed his way through the crowd, breathing picking up as he realized he caught the gaze of the more threatening of the pink haired duo on the scene. His motions got more aggressive, more desperate,  arms rushing forward and back to gain speed, legs darting over shoes and into open spaces in the crowded space as he got closer, and closer to that stage, closer and closer to the spark of his rebellion.</p>
<p>He couldn’t waste a single second as he reached the edge, the Piltover enforcer rushing her way to the young investor as he took the biggest risk of his life, maybe outside of his first z-drive test, he stepped onto that stage. In that moment, Ekko panicked, his eyes darting between the girl in-front of him, the microphone between the two of them, and the speakers behind her. In that moment, he wasted his second, he wasted his shot, and all the empath could understand was a simple thought, as he looked into her eyes. “Please, please let me get away with this.”</p>
<p>The sense of shared desperation was only for a moment, before he felt a rough grip grab his hair, and before he could reach to activate his z-drive, another hand was upon his wrist. Seem like word got around about his device, or someone got lucky.  No matter what, the boy who shatter time had his heart shattered, rebellion quelled with the click of cuffs, and one last fleeting glance with the Piltovian music maker as he was quickly forced off stage.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Deal of a Lifetime</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After a mistake that could end his inventing career, and rob him of his tech, Ekko finds help from an unexpected source. A deal is struck.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for the wait! But, to make up with it I've started up with the idea of giving each chapter musical accompaniment! It'll make it's way into a bit of a "playlist" for the story, meaning, we need to play catch-up!<br/>Chapter 1: "What's Up Danger" -Blackway https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y88LVU7MAe4<br/>Chapter 2: "Music" -Mystery Skulls https://youtu.be/crX5l5_b6mM</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>His parents were going to kill him, weren’t they? Chem-barons were one thing, the scuffle with a brute or two? That was typical life in Zaun. Piltie Police on the other hand? He wouldn’t be allowed out for ages, would he? The boy sighed as he settled on the bench of the bare well, eyes watching the dark ceiling as his mind continued to wander. They took his z-drive, his bat… and he was sure he wouldn’t be getting either of those back, unlicensed hex-tech and all. Stupid Pilties.</p><p>The silent echoes of his own thoughts in his mind was broken by the sound of footsteps, and soon enough an office was waiting at the door to his cell, looking over the troubled inventor. “You’re out, kid. Some, girl, caught your bail.” The stern office explained with a tone of disbelief, motioning the boy up with a simple nod of his head.</p><p>A girl? Ekko didn’t know any girls… did he? No. No way. No way that couldn’t, she wouldn’t! For a brief moment his face was pure panic, utterly confusing the guard until his shoulders slumped with a relaxed sigh. There’s no way they’d let <em>her</em> near the police station, whoever this was, it wasn’t her. He got up with a shrug, nothing to lose, as he made is way to the door, and followed the warden out of his cell, and towards the front of the station.</p><p>“You can’t have back your illegal tech, but you’re lucky we’re even letting ya out, she was very convincing…” the officer explained as they exited the collection of cells, out into the main room of the station. Yet, Ekko wasn’t listening, his mind clouded with utter confusion as he picked out a pair of signature pink locks waiting for him in the lobby of the station. Seraphine?</p><p>The girl giggled with a small wave, some of the bystanders, Ekko included, wondering just what brought a rising star like her to a place like this. She didn’t belong here, with the filth of the world, dirty criminals, and petty thieves. She belonged among the stars. She motioned him over as the officer let him go, and of course, he followed.</p><p>“But why are you? I’m just… you aren’t?” he couldn’t get out a word, or much to say at all, until she butted in, her smooth melody hitting his ears and calming him, even without her platform.</p><p>“Shh. We’ll talk more later, okay? Just follow me!” his lips met her finger as she assured him with a smile, a pep in her step as she turned heel and bounded out of the station, following the beat of the song in her head, the song of those around her, walking to the rhythm of the city.</p><p>“But my stuff! We gotta…”</p><p>“Laterrrrr!” she called out again, leaving Ekko to rush after her to keep up, little time to argue as he was thrust into her world, forced to play a duet without knowing the lyrics.</p><p>Seraphine lead the duo, in a way. Truthfully, she just walked as she always did, and expected Ekko to join her harmony! Who wouldn’t want to? She found herself humming to the beat in his head, even if it was somewhat muddled and messy. She could work with that! Every good artist started somewhere, and from that brief moment at the concert, she knew his start would lead him places. With the right teacher, of course, and that’s what she was there for!</p><p>Ekko was in a totally different world, both from Seraphine, and physically. His eyes darted between the clean streets, slick structures, and the girl bounding in front of him. On one hand, it was amazing! All this technical advancement, the sheer energy of Piltover sent his mind racing with what his future could be! Or what it might have been… if he actually accepted his parents offer. That’s when his thoughts soured, and what was once childlike wonder turned to fear, and discomfort. He knew what was beneath this innovation, what fueled it, and what someone like Seraphine was left blissfully unaware of. He knew Zaun, Zaun made sense. The chems had a side effect, they had their rules, but… Hextech didn’t seem to apply the same logic. It felt alien, and unnatural. Could this be his future? Somewhere where he could invent, without consequence?</p><p>Oh! His song was mellowing out! Seraphine wondered what took up his thoughts, unable to know exactly what was on his mind. She’d work on that talent, once she figured out her next set of choreography. She broke the melody as the two entered the quiet sanctuary of her parents’ hexcoustics workshop, “So… I want your help! You wanted to see my platform, right? I want to know about Zaun, so… we can trade!” Seraphine turned to face Ekko again, giving the sweetest, widest smile she could to try and convince him.</p><p>He was drawn out of his own thoughts as the bustling streets dampened, letting the lighter tones of small ticks break through. The rhythm sound of a wrench at work, the sound of a metronome, it filled him at ease, the mechanical white noise calming him down as the sound of her voice broke through. “You’re not… mad at me?” he avoided her question, instead letting out his own that he’d been holding since the moment he saw her in the lobby.</p><p>“No! Of course not! You’re a fan, aren’t you? Why wouldn’t you be! Just, come on!” yet again Seraphine stole the spotlight of the conversation, whisking Ekko up and up, further and further up the workshop until they settled their place in her room, an absolute mess, filled with hextech trinkets and sound equipment. She settled on her bed, a massive mound of plush fluff, her light body sinking into it as the mattress let out an audible, “Woomph!”</p><p>Yet again, Ekko’s solo was cut short as he was whisked away into the next movement of Seraphine’s symphony. His initial moments in her room were filled with utter awe, seeing the potential in the life he could have had, if only he was born here. With these resources, his z-drive could be years ahead of its current iteration! That was right, he still needed his tech back. He needed a plan on that front.</p><p>“Alright, if I uh… tell you what you wanna know about Zaun, you’ll tell me how your platform works?”</p><p>Seraphine responded with a nod, idly humming as she watched his eyes dart around her room, “And whatever else you want to learn about in here! But… my parents are the ones that make a lot of it, but you’re free to look!”</p><p>Ekko’s eyes widened in surprise, taking a small step back as he was somewhat fearful of such gestures of generosity. If he knew life, at least life in Zaun, nothing was ever this simple. “What’s the catch?”</p><p>Seraphine’s song was suddenly silenced, her head tilting in confusion as she stood up, a small pout on her lips. Why wasn’t he trusting her! Everyone trusted her! She had their best interest in mind, after all. “Why would there be a catch? My parents are inventors, I can see the look in your eye… you’re one too, aren’t you? You’re like them? That… thingy you had? On your back, at the concert! I saw you reaching for it.”</p><p>That was… discomforting. Ekko took another step back before he opened his mouth, voice much softer and unsure, exposed, “Y-yeah, I am. But… they kinda took my stuff. I’ve been working on that for a while, and it’s not like I can get my hands on another piece of pure hextech like that…”</p><p>“We’ll get it back!” Seraphine chirped up, unsure of what exactly that would include, but she needed to get him back on her side, and quickly. “I’ll help you get it back, and you can even improve it with the tools we have in the shop, doesn’t that sound great!”</p><p>“I… okay, yeah. That would be awesome, actually.” Ekko finally cracked a smile as he stepped towards her, closing the gap between the two of them as he fell for the siren’s song.</p><p>“Great! So, we have a deal, you tell all about what it’s like in Zaun, really like, and I help you get your tech back, and let you look over mine!”</p><p>“Well, I…” Ekko held his tongue, unsure what he wanted to say next. Well, he knew what he wanted to say, but was it too much? It wasn’t like he’d get another chance like this; he’d best make all he could of it. “Could you,” he paused again, letting out a small sigh to relax himself, “give me some music lessons?”</p><p>Ekko expected a moment of silence, a moment of contemplation, a rest in sheet music as she thought over his offer, considered the scrappy brat asking her for the world.</p><p>It took Seraphine no time at all, barking up in a sweet tone as she rushed forward to hug him, “Sure! I’m so happy we’ll get to work together! This is all what I’m about, collaboration!”</p><p>Ekko tensed up, expecting a knife in his back, a fist in his face, not a gentle arm rushing around to hold him close. He laughed, awkwardly wrapping his arms around her in term as he managed to hold in his excitement. He was expecting her to laugh, to tell him it was all some joke, a setup, but the punchline never came.</p><p>She pulled back almost as quickly as she rushed forward, finally settling back down on her bed as she calmed down almost as quickly as she got herself excited, “So… you already know my name, but who are you, anyway? The officers said you wouldn’t talk…” she sighed, looking over Ekko with concern.</p><p>“It’s… Ekko. Just call me Ekko.” He explained, a bit on edge at the mention of the mess that brought him here in the first place.</p><p>“Ekko? I like it! Trust me, you’re gonna be a giant!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Team Composition</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Once one deal is struck, another two are brought into the fold.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yeah, updating this fic... it's been sketchy. But I'm committing to finishing this, no matter how long it takes. </p>
<p>Here's the soundtrack for this chapter, because what's a better soundtrack when you're prepping for a heist: "Run The Jewels" - Run The Jewels https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfuCLp8VEng</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So… what do you want me to do again?” Seraphine gave a curious glance to Ekko, idly swinging her legs as he sat on the edge of her bed, watching the young inventor expectantly. She wasn’t used to being out of the loop, like this. She didn’t like singing without a backing track.</p>
<p>“Simple. You stay here, and that’s all I need from you right now. I need to go… talk to someone, who might be able to get us into the vault,” Ekko sighed as he finished off his sentence, reflecting on just who he’d need to find. A former friend, a former crush, even, but he hadn’t seen her in a while, and she’s only grown more notorious in the meantime. Still, he needed his drive back, and a Piltie wouldn’t know the information he needed.</p>
<p>“Oh, I can find someone too, I promise!” Seraphine beamed as she bounced to her feet, hiding her frustration as she shifted up her tempo, closing the gap between her and Ekko. “I know people around here, and I know someone that can help us! So… you go find your person, and I’ll find mine.”</p>
<p>“Oh uh,” Ekko laughed, smiling gently at Seraphine. It was nice to find someone this eager to help, especially from a place he’d come to despise for so long. One person didn’t change the city, but it gave him hope there might be a future for him, a future for the both of them, working to make Piltover and Zaun one. “Sure, just meet me back here.”</p>
<p>Seraphine ended the engagement with a tight hug, giggling. Anything to make this boy comfortable (or uncomfortable, whatever kept her control over the situation). It was weird to interact with someone who wasn’t already fawning over her, and she had no idea at what made him tick, beyond his tech, of course. But she’d find his tempo, and set it to her own, she’d just need time. She was the metronome of this city, after all, the rising star setting the tone for everyone to sing along to.</p>
<p>Once Ekko broke free from her entrapments, he rushed to the door, a youthful energy filling his stride as he felt like he had a purpose, one he was lacking hours ago, trapped in that cell. Sure, his plan relied on… unknown variables, both his guest and whoever Seraphine decided to bring along, but it was a plan with potential. Potential, he could harness, like the shattered crystal of his z-drive, potential he could control, and an outcome that would hopefully put him in a better place from where he started.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Another day, another expedition! Or, at least, that was the dream. At the moment expeditions needed small break in-between, stuck promoting himself to Piltovian elite as his uncle’s university, to fund whenever his search for priceless artifacts lead him next. Thus, was the life for the prodigal explorer.</p>
<p>Ezreal sighed as he slumped in his chair, sat outside his uncle’s office, and what became in his absence, Ezreal’s meeting room. It had been a boring hour, a boring day, a boring week for Ezreal. The usual clientele came to meet him, piltovian inventors curious about his gauntlet, the periodic academic, and even once… an older woman looking for “companionship”. He passed on that offer.</p>
<p>Soon enough, after the clock, his only companion in the room, ticked past the next hour, a pair of pink locks filled his vision, adding a much-needed splash of color to the dull, put-together landscape around him. Was that? No… no way! No way that wasn’t her, she wasn’t asking for a meeting, was she? The blonde explorer steadied himself, taking a deep breath as he looked into his glove, using his reflection the metal to adjust his hair so that he looked, perfect.</p>
<p>“Hi, I’m Seraphine! And you are… Ezreal, right?” She started off with a giggle, giving the boy the kind of look he knew he deserved. One he wished he could get from Lux… but he was working on it. Well, Jarro Lightfeather was working on it.</p>
<p>“Yea, of course! That’s me! But you uh, you knew that, with the glove and the hair and the…” he trailed off with a nervous laugh, finally catching himself as he stood up, gesturing her towards the door to the office.</p>
<p>“Seraphine, right?”</p>
<p>“Oh, you’ve heard of me?” She reached for his hand, the ungloved one at least, as he led her inside, gravitating towards him.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I mean who hasn’t? I’m a fan! Not like, a huge one or anything? Not a creepy fan!” he explained, backing away from her as he found himself on the other side of the desk.</p>
<p>“So, what did you need me for?”</p>
<p>“You’re… not a huge fan? It’s okay if you are! It’s always nice to have a fan so, handsome~” Seraphine winked, her words melting into song, a private performance, all for him.</p>
<p>“I uh… I am! Totally am! The biggest!” Ezreal blurted out with blushing cheeks, scrambling to salvage the conversation toward a potential second one, given his luck with a certain blonde mage had been… limited, recently.</p>
<p>“Perfect! So… if I needed someone to help me break into, say, A vault. Could you do that?” Seraphine offered, before quickly adding a second verse, “I know typically ruins are more in your genre, but isn’t a vault just a more… modern ruin?”</p>
<p>“I…” Ezreal struggled with a response. No, vaults and ruins weren’t the same thing. It isn’t stealing if someone’s dead, right? This was, robbery, a crime, a scandal! But what could he do against that pretty face?</p>
<p>“Okay, I’ll do it. When do you need me?”</p>
<p>If this whole, popstar, thing didn’t work out? Seraphine would probably have a promising future as the leader of a crime circuit, maybe a crime city? In another reality, maybe.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tick. Tick. Tick! BOOM! A shrill laugh filled the air as colors did the same, small sparks of neon shrapnel falling down like rain. Just as the first grenade filled the air with its contents another took its place, filling the area with dangerous confetti. It was a party, alright, but only a party for one.</p>
<p>“Ugh…. Fishbones! Fishbones? Listen to me!” Jinx argued with her weapon as she tugged the metal maw of the rocket launcher to meet her gaze, huffing as she finally got the weapon to pay attention.</p>
<p>“We need something to do! I’m not sayin blowin up stuff isn’t fun… but it’s not the same as buildings! Or people!” Jinx’s voice growled out in frustration, foot tapping rapidly.</p>
<p>“Well… you see…. Jinx. Maybe we should, just relax?” The deeper tone (also coming from Jinx’s mouth) was cut off by the harsh sound of metal being smacked, the jaw of the launcher clanking from the impact.</p>
<p>“Fishbones! I will replace you! No! No! No! We need to do something, anything! Something exciting!”</p>
<p>“I uh… might be able to help with that?”</p>
<p>Jinx’s eyes shot wide open as she spun on her heels, looking over the figure currently standing in the doorway to her warehouse, a voice she… recognized? “Ekko?”</p>
<p>The boy sighed, shifting somewhat nervously before taking a small step closer. It had been… a while since they’d interacted. Only a few times meeting each other, as well. If it was good or bad that she remembered his voice, his name, even? Ekko was about to find out. “Yeah, it’s me? You’re not gonna kill me for coming here, are you?”</p>
<p>“Kill you? You’re not a Piltie now… are you? All cooped up with little miss teacup and her fisty friend?”</p>
<p>“No?” Ekko lied. Ekko was horrible at lying, he knew this, Jinx could probably tell this. Well, technically he wasn’t full Piltie, but working with one, to get his things back, from Pilties. It was complicated.</p>
<p>Jinx blew a raspberry, rolling her eyes as she put her weapon down. “Then what do you have to worry about? So… you said you had something?” Her eyes narrowed like a predator, already imagining what scheme would require her help. General Destruction? Absolute Mayhem? Entertainment?</p>
<p>He let out a tense sigh as he kept his distance, even coughing from some of the smoke (and shrapnel) in the air. “Well… I know you don’t, work well with others? But I need you to? If you do, you can blow something up, or in this case, open.” Ekko’s words hesitated, watching after each and every one as he tried to parse just what was going on in her head, if he was saying the right thing, or what to say next.</p>
<p>“Okay. I’ll do that. When do you need me?”</p>
<p>Ekko just, blinked. Did she just, say okay? No questioned asked? “But you… okay? Right now, maybe? I didn’t even tell you the plan?”</p>
<p>The pale figure neared him with a wide grin, humming to herself as she put a musical sense in her step, leading the way towards the open door of the warehouse. “You said I’d get to blow something up, wouldn’t I? Plan schlam.” She ended with another raspberry and a giggle, grabbing Ekko’s arm and dragging him toward the green tinted light of the rest of the lower city.  </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The First Gig</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A songstress, explorer, inventor and loose cannon walk into a vault.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“We’re working with him?! Them?!”</p>
<p>“I’m working with her… really?”</p>
<p>“This is why I wanted to tell you the plan…” Ekko sighed as found himself butting in between the two marksmen, right in the middle as he had one on either side. “But she didn’t tell me she was bringing him,” Ekko explained, giving a brief glance to Ezreal, more so at his gauntlet.</p>
<p>“But you said you weren’t a Piltie! But you brought me here, to Piltover, to work with them… Pilties!” Jinx argued, eyes shooting daggers at both Seraphine and Ezreal, even if she was too hyperactive to focus on just one, instead just letting her glance rapidly dart between the two.</p>
<p>“Alright, we’re doing a job in Piltover, you like blowing this place up, right?” Ekko turned his focus to his half of the team, pausing for a moment until he got an enthusiastic nod from the blue haired bomber. “Yeah, you’re doing that. Just so happens we’re getting some help to blow open a vault… and get my tech back.” The inventor explained the plan slowly as he watched Jinx closely, even as she quickly lost focus, her eyes darting around the small, scattered inventions and musical equipment littered across Seraphine’s bedroom.</p>
<p>“So… I’m not allowed to blow, them, up? I really lost focus after you said the words, ‘blow open a vault’.” Jinx titled her head at Ekko as she quickly focused back on him just long enough to respond, before her gaze was right back to the room around her.</p>
<p>Ekko sighed, this was going to take a while. He turned around to give a pained smile to the explorer and the songstress, gently grabbing Jinx by the pigtails as he guided her off to the corner, sat her down, and began to explain the plan in earnest.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We’re… really working with those two? I mean, the guy seems fine but… Jinx?” Ezreal rolled his eyes as he looked expectantly over to Seraphine, waiting for an explanation on what exactly she had gotten him involved in.</p>
<p>“Come on… you said you’d do it for me, right?” Seraphine sung as she tried to counter his glance, moving a hand to gently take his as she ran her thumb over the back of his hand. She offered him a small smile, even going so far as to kiss his cheek as she led him over to the other two, sitting them both on the bed as Ekko began his concert with an extended audience, explaining the plan to all three of them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The quartet waited until Seraphine’s parents had found their way to bed until they finally left the hexcoustics shop, sneaking out under the darkness of the moon above them, or at least, darkness in the eyes of two piltovians.</p>
<p>A few whispers passed between Jinx and Ekko, their eyes darting back and forth between each other and the bright circle above, before the inventor finally spoke up, “Is it… always this bright up here?”</p>
<p>“Yea? I mean, nothing like the skies in Shuri-“Ezreal was cut off with Seraphine’s hand on his mouth, the songstress giving Ekko a chance to jump in with his own verse.</p>
<p>“It usually isn’t this bright in Zaun, the gas and all…” Ekko explained simply, Jinx even nodding along to expand on the point. She’d seen the moon more than him, for sure, but it was still a peculiar sight for anyone raised in the fog of the lower city.</p>
<p>“Well, you could always come here more often…” Seraphine tried to lift their spirts but quickly found herself trailing off, hearing the songs of her compatriots in her mind as she quickly realized this wasn’t the moment to start on an upbeat chorus.</p>
<p>The group let the silence sit as they trained their eyes on the path before them, the footsteps being their only backing beat beyond the simple hum of hextech, and the occasional gnashing sounds of the second city below their feet.</p>
<p>Ezreal lead the group off to an alley as they neared closer, the silence replaced with the sound of more and more footsteps as well as idle chatter, clouding the audio mix. He and Ekko lead the team up a fire escape, and up a few rooftops until they were finally looking over their target. There was no way to know for sure this is where his tech was held, but what other massive vault did Piltover have?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“This is the place? I’ve blown into here before,” Jinx giggled, eagerly peering over the edge as she was already reaching for Fishbones, Ekko pushing the weapon down firmly to return it to her back before she got any ideas.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I think? There’s no other place they’d keep it.”</p>
<p>“Soo… you think you can get us in there, Ezreal? Keep up on your end of the deal?” Seraphine hummed a tune as she spoke, letting her siren song speak for herself as she leaned into the blonde, Ekko looking at him with an expectant glance as well.</p>
<p>“If Jinx can… distract them? I can… we can get in.” He gave a glance to each as he nodded, giving a weak smile as he ran through the scenario in his mind. His uncle was totally going to kill him if he got caught, but they wouldn’t! He knew how to break into… older, vaults. There couldn’t be that much different in a super high-tech heavily guarded one, totally!</p>
<p>“Okay so… we do this?” Ekko offered, giving a small glance around his team as he began to hype himself up, nodding his head for a few moments as he caught the song of the moment, running the drums in his mind.</p>
<p>“Let’s run it.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The calm of the Piltovian night was about to hit the beat switch, all welcomed in with the loud crash of a rocket. The projective found its way guided towards the door of the building, sending guards flying as the smoke settled down. The harsh tone of a laugh broke the stunned silence, and as gazes were drawn to the rooftop what once was a quartet was simply a soloist, a trio gone in a bright yellow flash.</p>
<p>As Jinx was left to wreak her havoc the other 3 found themselves securely inside the hefty walls of the sanctum. The harsh tones of Jinx’s impact were left muted and muffled, rockets and explosions now just simple beats hidden far back in the mix.</p>
<p>“That… worked? It worked!” Ekko couldn’t help but laugh as he let go of Ezreal, his jubilation only lasting for a moment as he led the 3 to rush forward… until Seraphine quickly pulled him back.</p>
<p>“Ezreal… how comfortable would you be on a solo? You can protect yourself, but Ekko doesn’t have his gear! So, I’ll stay with him, and you can search for it on your own, right?” The girl quickly pulled Ekko into a tight embrace, acting much like a protective older sister as offered Ezreal his choreography. Everyone had a role to play in this song, and hers was with Ekko. Ezreal’s was… elsewhere.</p>
<p>“Um… yeah! I’m always up for a solo expedition, I’ll tell you guys what I find!” The blonde bounded off without a question, leaving Seraphine to drag Ekko off in search for his stolen tech.</p>
<p>“Shouldn’t we… work together? We’re already split two ways, 3 isn’t the smartest…”</p>
<p>“Nope! I have this all planned out, alright? Just trust me, please? You’re going to be a giant, Ekko! We just need to find your tech,” she disregarded the other’s concerns as they found their way down around a corner.</p>
<p>He simply sighed and shrugged off the weird feeling in his chest, his spirit quickly picking up as they found their way to the end of the hall, Ekko trying his hand at a door. As he opened it, his eyes landed on exactly what he needed.  He rushed ahead of Seraphine as his hands quickly laid purchase on his missing gear, holding his bat close before he managed to slip on his z-drive.</p>
<p>Ekko counted himself in before taking his biggest chance of the night: 1… 2… 3… 4…</p>
<p>Right before his eyes Seraphine found herself a few steps back, Ekko letting out a sigh of relief to her utmost and utter confusion on how he was there… given he wasn’t about, a measure before?</p>
<p>“It worked! They didn’t break it, it works, it works, the crystal works, the drive works!” Ekko gave himself a simple moment of celebration, pulling the girl into a tight hug before he stepped back and remember just where he was, and what he was doing. “Seraphine? What was the plan for getting out of here? Ezreal is… not with us, and Jinx is stuck out there on the streets.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh, we have this Ekko, don’t worry! Ezreal will draw their focus, and so will Jinx… so we can just sneak out of here!” She offered with a giggle, hugging the boy back in return without a second thought of her own.</p>
<p>“But… they? How are, they going to get out?”</p>
<p>“They won’t? Come on Ekko… this isn’t a band, we’re a duo. We can’t just have hangers on ruining our moment!”</p>
<p>Ekko broke out of her embrace as he shook his head, looking her over in utter surprise. The voice who was supposed to unite their cities, the girl who took him up on the offer when he asked for the world… was like this? “We can’t, Seraphine we need to help them. They trusted us!”</p>
<p>“Ekko, I know you have potential! You have a message, and a spark! But I need you to decide what you want to do with it. If you want to worry about every single person, you can figure out a plan? But I’ll be going. But if you want to worry about what the masses need, instead of just two people? Then you’ll come with me, and we’ll make this city better, together.”</p>
<p>Any moment for Ekko to think was quickly cut short, panic setting in as he heard footsteps down the hall, their conversation bringing a curious audience their way. He rushed forward to take her hand as Seraphine was quick to hide them against the wall, covering his mouth with her other hand as she led them through the halls, dodging guards as they found their way out a side entrance.</p>
<p>The building was swarmed as they found their way out into a nearby alley, the peculiar pink locks of a certain officer catching Ekko’s eye as Seraphine tugged him away from the scene.</p>
<p>She sighed as she led her new pupil away from the scene of their crime, the loud songs of the people around them making a symphony that clouded up her thoughts, even if it was more just plain noise. Through it all she could hear the distinct song of Jinx, and Ezreal, two panicked voices with no idea how easily they found their place as basic notes in her melody.</p>
<p>This was her song, after all. Even Ekko was just a feature, but she’d break that news to him eventually.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, Beat-Switch is now updating on a bi-weekly schedule (provides nothing else changes up my life)! If you've kept up with the fic so far, thank you, and I hope to keep you along for the ride as the story develops!</p>
<p>This chapter's track is Villain - by K/DA:  https://youtu.be/tzug3Dm37NQ (even if True Damage &gt; K/DA, fight me K-pop stans)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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